38. The Scholar. — How cometh this entering of the Will into Heaven or Hell to pass?
The Master. — When the Qround of the Will yieldeth itself up to God, then it sinketh down from itself beyond all Qround and Place, where GOD only is manifest, worketh and Willeth, and then it becometh Nothing to itself, as to its own Willing, and so God worketh and Willeth in it. Yea, GoD dwelleth in this re^ signed Will; by which means the Soul is Sanctified, and so cometh into Divine Rest, Now when the Body is dead, the Soul is throughly penetrated and saturated with the Love of GOD, and throughly enlightened with the Light of GOD; even as the Fire throughly inflameth a red-hot Iron, whereby it loseth its Dark- ness. This is the Right Hand of Christ; where the Loveol GOD throughly possesseth the Soul all over, and is a shining Light and a nezv Life in it; and thus the Soul is in Heaven, and a Temple of the Holy Qhost; yea, it is indeed itself the very Heaven of God in which He dwelleth. But the Case oi\!cie wicked So\j\ is this: It will not in the Time of this Life enter into the Divine Resignation of its Will, but goeth on continually in its own Lust and Falsehood, in the Will of the Devil, It receiveth into itself nothing but Wickedness, Lies, Pride, Covetousness, Envy, and Anger, and yieldeth its Will unto them. By which Means the Hellish Element also becometh manifest and working in the Soul, and throughly penetrateth and possesseth it all over, as Fire doth a burning hot Iron. Now such a Soul cannot come to Divine Rest, for GOD'S Anger is manifested in it. And therefore when the Body parteth from it, then its eternal Qrief and Despair begin. For it perceiveth and findeth, that it is become a mere self-tormenting Abomination, and is ashamed to strive to enter with its false Will into GOD. Nay, it cannot; for it is captivated io6 I'he JVay to Qhrist.
in the Wrath^ and is itself mere Wrath^ and hath shut itself up therein by its false and evil Desire, which it hath raised up in itself. And seeing the Light of GOD shineth not in it, and his Lave toucheth it not, therefore it is a great Darkness and an aching anguishing Source of Fire, which carrieth Hell in itself, and cannot reach the Light of God. Thus it dwelleth in itself in Hell, and needeth no entering into it, for wheresoever it is, it is in Hell; though it should cast itself many Hundred Thousand Miles from the Place it is in, yet it abideth still in the same Property and Source of Darkness.
39. The Scholar. — How cometh it then that a Holy Soul in this Life-Time, doth not perfectly perceive that Heavenly LigJU and foy, nor a wicked Soul feel Hell, when both of them are thus in Man, and one of them of Necessity worketh in him?
The Master. — The Kingdom of Heaven in the Saints is work- ing and sensible in their Faith; th^yfeel the Love of GoD in their Faith, by which the PT/// yieldeth itself up into GOD. But the natural Life is environed with Flesh and Blood, stand eth in the Contrariety of God's Anger, and is also compassed about and closely beset with the vain Lust of this outward World. So that the poor Soul liveth in the Midst of its Enemies, having the World on one Side, the Devil on the other, and on a third the Curse of the Anger of GoD in Flesh and Blood; which continually sift, try, and Xhxo\xgh\y penetrate the Life of Man, who is often brought into bitter Anguish, through these several Assaults of Hell, which would fain manifest itself in him. But the Soul sinketh down in the Hope of Divine Qrace, and standeth like a fair Rose in the midst of Thorns, until the Kingdom of this World falleth off from it in the Death of the Body; and then doth it become ^rj/ truly and really manifest in the Love of GoD, having nothing more to hinder or molest it. But during the Time of this Life in the Body it must walk with Christ, who will stand by it and deliver it out of its own Hell by throughly /^«^- trating it with his Love, and thus change its Hell into Heaven.
But to thy Question, why do not the wicked feel Hell in the Time of this Life? I answer, he hath it indeed, and sometimes feeleth it in his evil Conscience, but not perfectly, nor doth he know that it is Hell. For he possesseth earthly Vanity as yet, with which he is enamoured, and in which he taketh Delight and Pleasure; also the outward Life hath yet the Light of the out- ward Nature, and so the Hellish Pain cannot h^ fully manifested and felt. But when the Body dieth, and the Soul can no longer enjoy temporal Pleasure, or be cheered with the Light of this out- ward World, then it standeth in eternal Hunger and Thirst after such Vanity, as it was in Love withal here. Yet it can reach Of the Super-Sensual Life. 107 nothing but that evil Will which it had impressed in itself, and too much gratified in this Life, though it v/as not, nor indeed could be, satisfied with such Gratification of it. However there it cannot gratify it at all, which maketh it to be in everlasting ^xiA fruitless Hunger and thirst after Vanity^ Wickedness^ and vile Lewdness. It would fain do more -ffz/// still, but hath notze/^r^- in or wJierewith to perform it, and therefore performeth it only in itself^ in its Will: And this Hellish Hunger?SiA Thirst cdLtinot he fully manifested in it, till the Body dieth, wherewith the Soul hath played the Wanton in Voluptuousness, and which hath ministered to the Soul what it lusted after.
40. The Scholar. — Heaven and Hell being in us in Strife in this Life-Time, and GOD being also thus near us, where do the Angels and Devils dwell?
Where the Angels and Devils dwell in this World's Time; how far Heaven and Hell are asunder; and what and whence the Angels and human Souls are.
The Master. — Where thou dost not dwell as to thyself and thy own Willy there the Angels dwell with thee and everywhere all over the Universe; but where thou dwellest as to thyself and thy own Will, there the Devils dwell with thee, and everywhere all over the Universe.
41. The Scholar. — I understand not this.
The Master. — Where the Will of Qod Wiileth in any Being, there GoD is manifested in that Being; and in that Manifestation the Angels also dwell: but where GOD in any Being Wiileth not with the Will of the Being, there GOD is not manifested in it, but dvvelleth in Himself without the co-operating of the Being. In that Being its own Will is without Qod's Will, and there the Devil dwelleth, and all whatever is without GoD.
42. The Scholar. — How far then are Heaven and Hell from each other?
The Master. — As far as Day and Night, Something and Nothing are from one another; they are in each other, and they cause yicjy and Trouble one to the other. Heaven is through the whole World, and without the World all over the universal System of Nature, without being divided or included in a Place, and worketh through the Divine Manifestation y but only in itself, and in that which cometh into it, or in that wherein it becometh mani- fest; and there GoD is revealed. For Heaven is nothing but a Manifestation of the Eternal One, wherein all worketh and Wiileth in quiet Love.
io8 l^he Way to Qhrist.
Hell also is through the whole Worlds and dwelleth and worketh only also in itself, and in that wherein the Foundation of Hell is manifested, viz., in Self, and in the false and ^z/// PT///. The visible World hath both Heaven and //i^// in it. Man, as to his temporal Life, is only of the visible World, and therefore during the Time of this Life he seeth not the spiritual World, For the outward World with its Substance is a Cover to the Spiritual World, as the Body is to the Soul. But when the outward Man dieth, then the spiritual World is manifested in and to the Soul, either in the eternal Light with the holy Angels, or in the eterncU Darkness with the Devils, 43. The Scholar. — What is an Angel or the Soul of a Man, that they may be manifested thus, either in God's Love or Anger?
The Master. — They came from one Original; they are Branches or Out-births of the Divine Science of the Divine Will, sprung from the Divine Word, and made Objects of the Divine Love, They are come out of the Qroundoi Eternity, from whence Light and Darkness spring, viz,. Darkness consisting in the har- bouring and cherishing Self-desire,2ind Li^ht consisting in Willing the same with GOD. In which Willing the Love of GoD readily and ^/^^ worketh; but in the receiving and entertaining Self in the Willing of the Soul, God's Will worketh in Pain, and becometh a Darkness that the Light may be known. Thus Heaven and Hell are nothing else but a Manifestation of the Divine Will^ either in Light or Darkness, according to the Properties of the spiritual World.
44. The Scholar.— What then is the Body of Man?
What the Body of Man is; and why the Soul is capable oj receiving Good and Evil.
The Master. — It is the visible World; an Image and Quint- essence or Compound of all that the World is; and the visible World is a Manifestation of the inward spiritual World, come out of the eternal Light and out of the eternal Darkness, out of the spiritual Compaction or Connection; and it is also an Image or Figure of Eternity, whereby Eternity hath made, itself visible; where Self Will and resigned Will, viz., Evil and Qoodvtoxli one with the other.
Such ^ Substance is the outward Man. For GOD created Man of the outward World, and breathed into him the inward spiritual World for a i'^w/ and an intelligent Life, and therefore in the Things of the outward World Man can receive and work evil and good.
Of the Super-Sensual Life. 109 45. The Scholar. — What shall be after this World, when all Things perish, and come to an End?
Of the 'Destruction of the World; of Man's Body in and after the Resurrection; where Heaven and Hell shall be; of the Last Judgment; and wherefore the Strife in the Creature must he.
The Master. — The material Substance only ceaseth; viz,^ the four Elements, the Sun, Moon, and Stars. And then the inward World will be wholly visible and manifest. But whatsoever hath been wrought by the Will or Spirit o( Man in this Worlds Time^ whether evil or good, I say, every such Work, shall there separate itself in a spiritual Manner, either into the eternal Light or into the eternal Darkness. For that which is born from each Will penetrateth and passeth again into that which is like itself And there the Darkness is called Hell, and is an eternal forgetting of all Qood; and the Light is called the Kingdom of Qod, and is an eternal Joy in and to the Saints, who continually glorify and praise GOD, for having delivered them from the Torment of Evil.
The Last Judgment is a Kindling of the Fire both of GOD*S Love and Anger, in which the Matter of every Substance perisheth, and each Fire shall attract into itself its own, that is, the Substance that is like itself:< Thus God's Fire of Love will draw into it whatsoever is born in the Love of GOD, or Love-' Principle, in which also it shall burn after the Manner of Love, and yield itself into that Substance. But the Torment will draw into itself what is wrought in the Anger of GoD in Darkness, and consume \}ci^ false Substance; and then there will remain only the painful aching Will in its own proper Nature, Image, and Figure.
46. The Scholar. — With what Matter and Form shall the human Body rise?
The Master. — It is sown a natural Gross and Elementary Body, which in this Life-Time is like the outward Elements; yet in this gross Body there is a subtle Power and Virtue. As in the Earth also there is a subtle good Virtue, which is like the Sun and is one and the same with the Sun; which also in the Beginning of Time did spring and proceed out of the Divine Power and Virtue, from whence all the good Virtue of the Body is likewise derived. This good Virtue of the mortal Body shall come again and live for ever in a kind of transparent Crystalline material Property, in spiritucd Flesh and Blood; as shall also the no The Way to Qhrist, good Virtue of the Earth, for the Earth likewise shall become Crystalline, and the Divine Light shine in every Thing that hath a Being, Essence, or Substance. And as the gross Earth shall perish and never return, so also the gross Flesh of Man shall perish and not live for ever. But all Things must appear before tfie Judgment ^ and in the Judgment be separated by the Fire; yea, both the Earth and also the Ashes of the human Body, For when GOD shall once move the spiritual World, every Spirit shall attract its spiritual Substance to itself. A good Spirit and Soul shall draw to itself its good Substance, and an evil one its evil Substance, But we must here understand by Substance such a material Power and Virtue^ the Essence of which is mere Virtue, like a matericU Tincture (such a Thing as hath all Figures, Colours and Virtues in it, and is at the same time transparent), the Qrossness whereof is perished in all Things.
47. The Scholar. — Shall we not rise again with our visible Bodies, and live in them for ever? See the 40 Questions of the Soul, 21 Question, 12 Verse, The Master. — When the visible World perisheth, then all that which hath come out of it, and hath been external, shall perish with it. There shall remain of the World only the Heavenly Crystalline Nature and Form, and of Man also only the spiritual Earth; for Man shall be then wholly like the spiritual World, which as yet is hidden.
48. The Scholar. — Shall there be Husband and Wife, or Children or Kindred, in the Heavenly Life^ or shall one associate with another, as they do in this Life?
The Master. — Why art thou so fleshly-minded? There will be neither Husband nor Wife, but all will be like the Angels of God, viz,, masculine Virgins. There will be neither Son nor Daughter, Brother nor Sister, but all of one Stock and Kindred. For all are but One in Christ, as a Tree and its Branches are One, though distinct as Creatures; but GOD is All in AIL In- deed, there will be spiritual Knowledge of what every one hath been, and done, but no possessing or enjoying, or Desire of possessing earthly Things, or enjoying fleshly Relations any more.
49. The Scholar. — Shall they all have that eternal foy and glorification alike?
The Master. — The Scripture saith, ' Such as the People is, 'such is their God.' And in another Place, 'With the Holy thou ' art Holy, and with the perverse thou art perverse.' And St. Paul saith, * In the Resurrection one shall differ from another in * Glory, as do the Sun, Moon and Stars.' Therefore know, that the Blessed shall indeed all enjoy the Divine Working in and upon them; but their Virtue, and Illumination, or Qlory, shall be very different, according as they have been endued in this Life with different Measures and Degrees of Power and Virtue in their painful Working. For the painful Working of the Creature in this Life-Time is the opening and begetting of Divine Power, by which that Power is made movable and operative. Now those who have wrought with Christ in this Life-Time, and not in the Lust of the Flesh, shall have great Power and trans- cendent Qlorification in and upon them. But others, who have only expected, and relied upon, an imputed Satisfaction, and in the meanwhile have served their Belly-Qod, and yet at last have turned, and obtained Qrace; those, I say, shall not attain to so high a Degree of Power and Illumination. So that there will be as great a Difference of Degrees between them, as is between the Sun, Moon, and Stars; or between the Flowers of the Field in their Varieties of Beauty, Power, and Virtue.
50. The Scholar. — How shall the World h^ judged, and by whom?
The Master. — fesus Christ, that Word of Qod which became Man shall by the Power of His Divine Stirring or Motion separate from Himself all that belongeth not to Him, and shall wholly manifest His Kingdom in the Place or Space where this World now is; for the separating Motion worketh all over the Universe, through all at once.
51. The Scholar. — Whither shall the Devils and all the damned be thrown, when the Plcu:e of this World is the Kingdom of Christ, and as such shall be glorified? Shall th^ be cast out of the Place of this World? or shall Christ have and manifest His Dominion out of the Sphere or Place of this World?
The ^hSr£W^.—'Hell shall remain in the Place or Sphere of this World everywhere, but hidden to the Kingdom of Heaven, as the Night is hidden in and to the Day. * The Light shall 'shine for ever in the Darkness, but the Darkness can never * comprehend, or reach, it' And the Light is the Kingdom of Christ; but the Darkness is Hell, wherein the Devils and the Wicked dwell; and thus they shall be suppressed by the King* dom of Christ, and made His Footstool, viz., a Reproach.
52. The Scholar.— /T^w; shall all People and Nations be brought to judgment?
The Master. — The Eternal Word of God, out of which every Spiritual Creaturely Life hath proceeded, will move itself ^X that Hour, according to Love and Anger, in every Life which is come out of the Eternity, and will draw every Creature before the judgment of Christ, to be sentenced by this Motion of the Word.
112 T'he Way to Qhrist, The Life will then be manifested in all its Works y and every Soul shall see and feel its fudgment and Sentence in itself. For the Judgment is, indeed, immediately at the Departure of the Body^ manifested in and to every Soul: And the Last Judgment is but a Return of the Spiritual Body^ and a Separation of the Worlds when the Evil shall be separated from the Qood^ in the Substance of the Worlds and of the human Body, and every Thing enter into its eternal Receptacle. And thus is it a Mani- festation of the Mystery of GoD in every Substance and Life.
53. The Scholar. How will the Sentence be pronounced? The Master. Here consider the Words of Christ, ' He will * say to those on his Right Hand, Come, ye blessed of my ' Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Founda- * tion of the World. For I was hungry and ye gave me Meat, I ' was thirsty and ye gave me Drink; I was a Stranger and ye * took me in; naked and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye * visited me, in Prison, and ye came unto me.
' Then shall they answer him, saying LORD, when saw we thee ' hungry, thirsty, a Stranger, naked, sick, or in Prison, and * ministered thus unto thee?
' Then shall the King answer and say unto them; inasmuch * as he have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren, * ye have done it unto me.
* And unto the wicked on his Left Hand he will say, depart * from me, ye cursed, into everlasting Fire, prepared for the * Devil and his Angels. For I was hungry, thirsty, a Stranger, * naked, sick, and in Prison, and ye ministered not unto me.
* And they shall also answer him and say, When did we see * thee thus, and ministered not untp thee } ' And he will answer them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch * as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these, ye did it * not to me.
* And these shall depart into everlasting Punishment, but the * righteous into Life eternal.* 54. The Scholar. — Loving Master, pray tell me why Christ saith, * what you have done to the least of these you have done * to me; and what you have not done to them, neither have you * done it to me.* And how doth a Man this so, as he that doeth it to Christ himself.
The Master. — Christ dwelleth really and essentially in the Faith of those that wholly yield up themselves to Him, and giveth them His Flesh for Food, diVid His Blood for Drink; and thus possesseth the Qround of their Faith, according to the Interior or inward Man, And a Christian is called a Branch of the Vine Christ, and a Christian^ because Christ dwelleth spirt- \ Of the Super-Sensual Life. 113 tually in him; therefore whatsoever Qood any shall do to such a Christian in his bodily Necessities^ it is done to Christ Himself who dwelleth in him. For such a Christian is not his own, but is wholly resigned to Christ, and become His peculiar Possession, and consequently the good Deed is done to Christ Himself. Therefore also whosoever shall withhold their Help from such a needy Christian, and forbear to serve him in his Necessity, they thrust Christ away from themselves, and despise Him in His Members. When a poor Person that belongeth thus to Christ asketh any Thing of thee, and thou deniest it him in his Neces- sity, thou deniest it to Christ Himself. And whatsoever Hurt any shall do to such a Christian, they do it to Christ Himself When any mock, scorn, revile, reject, or thrust away such a one, they do all that to Christ; but he that receiveth him, giveth him Meat and Drink, or Apparel, and assisteth him in his Necessities^ doth it likewise to Christ, and to a Fellow-Member of his own Body, Nay, he doth it to himself if he be a Christian; for we all are One in Christ, as a Tree and its Branches are One.
55. The Scholar. — How then will those subsist in the Day of that Fierce fudgment, who afflict and vex the poor and distressed, and deprive them of their very Sweat; necessitating and constraining them by Force to be subject to their Wills, and trampling upon them, as their Foot-stools, only that they them- selves may live in Pomp and Power, and spend the Fruits of this poor People's Sweat and Labour in Voluptuousness ^ Pride, and Vanity?
The Master. — Christ suffereth in the Persecution of His Members. Therefore all the Wrong that such hard Exactors do to the poor Wretches under their Control, is done to Christ Himself; and falleth under His severe Sentence and fudgment. And besides that, they help the Devil to augment his Kingdom; for by such Oppression of the Poor they draw them off from Christ, and make them seek unlawful Ways to fill their Bellies. Nay, they work for and with the Devil himself, doing the very same Thing which he doth; who, without Intermission, opposeth the Kingdom of Christ, which consisteth only in Love. All these Oppressors, if they do not turn with their whole Hearts to Christ, and minister to, or serve, Him, must go into Hell-fire, which is fed and kept alive by nothing else but such m^re Self as that which they have exercised over the Poor here.
56. The Scholar. — But how will it fare with those, and how will they be able to stand that severe Trial who in this Time do so fiercely contend about the Kingdom of Christ, and slander^ revile, dxA persecute one another for their Religion; as they do?
The Master. — All such have not yet known Christ; and are 8 114 ^^^ JVay to Qhrist.
but as a Type or Figure of Heaven and Hell^ striving with each other for the Victory.
All rising, swelling Pride^ which contendeth about Opinions^ is an Image oi Self. And whosoever hath not Faith and Humility ^ nor liveth in the Spirit of Christy which is Love, is only armed with the Anger of GOD, and helpeth forward the Victory of the Imaginary Self that is, the Kingdom of Darkness, and the Anger of GoD. For at the Day of Judgment all Self shall be given to the Darkness; as shall also all the unprofitable Con- tentions of Men; in which they seek not after Love^ but merely after their Imaginary Self that they may exalt themselves by exalting and establishing their Opinions; stirring up Princes to Wars for the sake of the same, and by that means occasioning the Desolation of whole Countries of People. All such Things belong to the Judgment, which will separate the false from the true; and then all Images or Opinions shall cease, and all the Children of Qod shall dwell for ever in the Love of Christ, and That in them.
All whosoever in this Time of Strife, namely, from the Fall to the Resurrection, are not zealous in the Spirit of Christ, and desirous to promote Peace and Love, but seek and strive for themselves only, are of the Devil, and belong to the Pit of Dark^ ness, and must consequently be separated from Christ, For in Heaven all serve GOD their Creator in humble Love.
57. The Scholar. — Wherefore then doth God sujfer such Strife and Contention to be in this Time?
The Master.— The Life itself standeth in Strife, that it may be made manifest, sensible, and palpable, and that the Wisdom may be made separable and known.
The Strife also constituteth the eternal Joy of the Victory. For there will arise great Praise and Thanksgiving in the Saints from the Experimental Sense and Knowledge that Christ in them hath overcome Darkness, and all the Self of Nature, and that they are at length totally delivered from the Strife; at which they shall rejoice eternally, when they shall know how the Wicked are recompensed. And therefore GOD suffereih all Souls to stand in a Free Will, that the eternal Dominion both of Love and Anger, of Light and of Darkness, may be made manifest and known; and that every Life might cause and find its own Sentence in itself For that which is now a Strife and Pain to the Saints in their wretched Warfare here, shall in the End be turned into great Joy to them; and that which hath been a Joy and Pleasure to Ungodly Persons in this World, shall afterwards be turned into eternal Torment and Shame to them. Therefore the Joy of the Saints must arise to them out of Death, as the Of the Super-Sensual Life. 115 Light ariseth out of a Candle by the Destruction and Consump- tion of it in its Fire; that so the Life may be freed from the Painfulness of Nature^ and possess another World.
And as the Light hath quite another Property than the Fire hath, for it giveth and yieldeth itself forth; whereas the Fire draweth in and consumeth itself; so the holy Life of Meekness springeth forth through the Death of Self -Will, and then GOD's Will of Love only rulethy and doth all in all. For thus the eternal One hath attained Feeling and Separability, and brought itself forth again with the Feeling, through Deaths in great Joy- fulness; that there might be an eternal Delight in the infinite Unity, and an eternal Cause of foy; and therefore Painfulness must now be the Qround and Cause of this Motion or Stirring to the Manifestation of all Things. And herein lieth the Mystery of the hidden Wisdom of GOD.
FINIS.
^^ \